--- title: "Search Console adds a branded vs non-branded query filter" url: https://seomadman.com/news/search-console-branded-query-filter section: news published: 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z modified: 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z author: Adam Hafez topics: ["Search Console"] --- # Search Console adds a branded vs non-branded query filter ## The short answer Search Console's Performance report can now split query data into branded and non-branded views. Google classifies queries with an internal AI-assisted system, not manual keyword rules, and warns some queries may be misidentified. Announced 20 November 2025, the filter reached all eligible sites on 11 March 2026, covering web, image, video and news results. ## Key takeaways - Google announced the branded queries filter in Search Console on Thursday, 20 November 2025, and expanded it to all eligible sites on 11 March 2026. - The filter lives inside the Search results Performance report and splits impressions, clicks, average position and CTR into branded and non-branded views. - Google classifies branded queries with an internal AI-assisted system rather than manual keyword or regex rules, and site owners cannot edit the classification. - Google states that some queries may occasionally be misidentified due to the dynamic, contextual nature of brand classification. - The filter only appears for top-level properties with sufficient query and impression volume, so smaller or path-scoped properties may not see it yet. Search Console's Performance report has always returned one number for a query set that is really two different stories: people who already knew the brand and typed it, and people who found the page with no brand intent at all. Google's new branded queries filter, announced Thursday, 20 November 2025 and now live for all eligible sites as of 11 March 2026, splits that number in the report itself. ## How the filter works The filter sits inside the Search results Performance report and offers two views. Branded shows performance for queries that include the site's brand name or closely associated products, Google's own example is Gmail for google.com. Non-branded shows everything else. Applying it limits impressions, clicks, average position and CTR to the selected group, and it works across all four search types the report covers: web, image, video and news. Google also added a card to the Insights report that shows the click split between branded and non-branded traffic directly, without requiring the filter to be applied by hand. ## How branded queries are identified Google is explicit that this is not the regex or keyword matching already available under "Filter by query." The classification comes from what Google calls "an internal, AI-assisted system." It covers the brand name in every language the site is queried in, common misspellings, and queries that never mention the brand name but clearly refer to a unique product or service the site owns. Google also states a limitation directly: "Due to the dynamic and contextual nature of brand classification, some queries may occasionally be misidentified." The post adds that the filter changes nothing about ranking, it is a reporting segmentation only. Rollout has two eligibility conditions worth checking before assuming the filter is broken: it works only on top level properties, not URL path or subdomain properties, and only on sites with enough query and impression volume for Google's signals to classify with confidence. ## Why we care Blended Performance numbers reward brand awareness and SEO work with the same line on the same chart, and the two do not move for the same reasons. Branded query volume tracks marketing spend, press coverage and word of mouth, a site can see clicks and impressions climb for months without a single ranking improving for a query a stranger would actually type. Non-branded volume is the number that answers whether the site is winning new searchers rather than reconfirming people who already knew where to look. Splitting the two in the report where the numbers already live, using Google's own signals rather than a hand-built keyword list, makes it possible to credit organic work correctly instead of averaging it into a brand-recognition trend line. ## Frequently asked questions ### How does Google decide which queries count as branded? Google states the classification is not a regular-expression or keyword match, the kind already available under "Filter by query." It is produced by an internal, AI-assisted system that recognizes the site's brand name across languages and common typos, plus queries that name a unique product or service without using the brand name itself. ### Can a site owner add or correct branded terms manually? Google's announcement does not describe any manual override, allowlist or training step. The classification is generated by Google's system alone, and the post's own limitation notice, that some queries may occasionally be misidentified, implies there is no site-side correction available yet. ### Why is the filter missing from some properties? Google lists two conditions in its rollout notes. The filter only applies to top level properties, not URL path or subdomain properties, and it requires enough query and impression volume for Google's signals to classify reliably. ## Sources 1. [Introducing the branded queries filter in Search Console](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2025/11/search-console-branded-filter) - Google Search Central Blog (primary) 2. [Google expands Search Console branded queries filter to all eligible sites](https://searchengineland.com/google-search-console-branded-queries-filter-expands-471387) - Search Engine Land